Father's Day

It's Father's Day here in the commercialized industrialized world. Yes, I'm choosing to celebrate, even if it is a 'made up' holiday, to take advantage of the opportunity to point out to my boys all the ways their daddy is special. Of course I do this every day, but it is fun to single out one day to pay extra special attention to their dad, and do fun art projects aimed at making Daddy feel extra appreciated.

Just like my Mother's Day post, I chose an assortment of photos with parent and child for this entry. But unlike my Mother's Day post, I had different reasons for choosing these photos with Mark and his boys. Here I chose photos that reminded me of what a loving, hardworking, and faithful father Mark is.

I love this look of pure joy as Mark holds his firstborn son, just about two minutes old, for the first time.

I selected this photo not because it looked like Mark was having fun as a dad (he wasn't), but because he was being a good dad by letting the boys climb all over him at the end of a hard work day, when all he really wanted was a nap.

Sleeping with baby Ben while I got things done around the house.

No cute story behind this one. I just think Mark looks cute holding his little buddy. :)

Snuggling a sick Benji at the doctor's office. Mark has gone to every single one of the boys' doctor appointments, well checks and sick visits alike.

Being goofy with Ben - I love that Mark is childlike and silly with his kids.

From our vacation in Carmel, which was at the time a very unpleasant experience since we had a 20-month old and a 5-month old. But Mark was cheerful and patient throughout and made the memories of the vacation enjoyable to recall.

Mark and Tommy, sitting together in their favorite chair, after doing yard work together. Actually, Mark was doing all the work, and Tommy was just crawling around in the dirt, dragging a rake behind him. To this day, Tommy still loves to "help" Daddy do yard work and is actually starting to become somewhat of an actual help. Mark takes the effort to include his boys in whatever work he can, and finds small ways they can help (even if they're not really helping).

Happy Father's Day, Mark! I'm so proud that you are the father to my children. Our world needs more fathers like you.

Don't Ever Wonder...

why boys get hurt so much. I found Tommy and Ben doing being quite inventive with some of their toys this morning:

Father's Day Preview

As I was sorting my photos from this past weekend, I found one that looked familiar. The top one is from August 2008, the bottom from June 2010. 

Ben - 2 Years, 4 months

My last update about you was six months ago, at 22 months. Looking back at that entry, I see that not much has changed. You still love the color green, still love Goodnight Moon (which you call "Nigh' Boon"), still hate veggies and love meat. You still are in love with Bambi and you still love to stack things. So what's new?

Your Hammer - With the exception of Blankie, your toy hammer (seen in this photo below, with the orange handle) is by far your favorite object in the universe. So many times during the day I hear, "Where my hammer is?" You like to bang on random objects throughout the house to hear the sound they make and to see what my face looks like, depending on what the object is.

Your Mommy - For some reason that Daddy and I haven't been able to figure out, you can only be comforted by me. You love to wrestle with, be chased by, and be tickled by Daddy, but when it comes to boo-boos, you don't want anyone else to pick you up except me. This normally wouldn't present a problem, except for when Daddy is the one who has to discipline you...then being chastised by Daddy and comforted by Mommy is not an acceptable scenario. To try to fix this, we've been having Daddy-Benji and Mommy-Tommy dates on Saturday mornings. You get Daddy all to yourself for 1-2 hours while Tommy and I hang out together. The change in your relationship with Daddy was immediate and noticeable. There is still lots of room for improvement, but I'm happy that we're on the right track.

Your Cuteness - Oh, my, you have somehow mastered the art of being cute. This makes discipline challenging because you know when you're doing something wrong and you know just the cutest face to put on when I find you out. Your Cute Face never succeeds in saving your bottom from its judgement, but it has come close many times, and I often have to use all of my willpower not to smile when you're being naughty.

Your Curiosity - Speaking of being naughty...you have a funny way of getting into everything. You don't even seem to realize the path of destruction you pave as you track dirt all over the floor as you look through the house for me, spill water everywhere as you help yourself to a drink from fridge, break a potted plant as you try to "help" it by moving it to another windowsill, upset Nemo's bucket of dog food while trying to "help" feed him, scatter rice across the counter as you try to "help" me measure...I could go on. You're such a curious little guy and even your messes bring a smile to my face and delight me (even if they may not in the moment).

You're my sweet Benji and I love you so much. I'm looking forward to seeing your personality shine through as you grow nearer to three years old.